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St Giles church, London - history of our Patron Saint |
 | | Giles, known in early writings as Aegidius, is reputed to have been born in Athens the son of Theodore and Pelagia in about 640. |
 | | Legend says that Giles consented to be the founder of the monastery near Nimes about 673, which flourished till the Saracen invasion, when it was was burned down and, according to legend, he and his monks took refuge with Charles Martel, aiding him by their prayers in his great battle for Christianity in the West. |
 | | Giles became one of the most popular saints in the West, the patron saint of woodland, of lepers, beggars, cripples, and of those struck by sudden misery, and driven into solitude like the hind, which, according to one tradition, came to St. Giles wounded. |
| www.stgilesonline.org /our-church/st-giles.php (626 words) |
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